San Diego State University’s women’s water polo team, ranked No. 19 nationally, secured a decisive 19-6 victory over Azusa Pacific in its final Golden Coast Conference home game of the 2026 season at the Aztec Aquaplex on Thursday.
Sydney Gish led the Aztecs with five goals. Teammates Mimi Stoupas scored four, Shannon Murphy and Claudia Valdes each added three, and Megan Holcomb contributed two. Lucy Bullock and Ioanna Petiki also found the net for San Diego State (11-7 overall, 4-1 GCC).
Goalkeeper Kyla Pranajaya started the match, making four saves and conceding four goals in her 16 minutes of play. She also recorded two assists and a steal. Tiaare Ahovelo played the second half, made two saves, and allowed two goals.
Ahovelo is now seven saves away from matching Maura Cantoni’s total of 519 career stops for seventh place in program history. Valdes moved within two goals of Amber Pezzolla’s mark of 229 for seventh on the all-time career-goals list; she also reached 166 career assists, just 14 shy of Sarah Brady’s third-place record.
Azusa Pacific (12-7 overall, 0-3 GCC) opened scoring early but was soon overtaken as SDSU scored six consecutive goals to end the first quarter with a 4-1 lead. The Cougars managed to narrow the gap before halftime to trail by three at 7-4.
In the third quarter, San Diego State pulled away with five straight goals—Gish scored quickly after halftime followed by Stoupas netting three times in less than two minutes and Holcomb adding another. The period ended with SDSU ahead by eight.
The Aztecs controlled the fourth quarter entirely, scoring five unanswered goals to seal their win.
San Diego State converted half its shots (19-of-38), while holding Azusa Pacific to just over one-third shooting accuracy (6-of-18). This win guarantees SDSU its thirteenth straight season with a winning record in Golden Coast Conference play.
Jessie Nelson led Azusa Pacific’s offense with two goals. Daniela Herrero Miralles played every minute as goalkeeper for APU and made ten saves despite conceding nineteen goals.
Final score breakdown:
Azusa Pacific: 1-3-2-0 — 6
San Diego State: 4-3-7-5 —19
Goal scorers for San Diego State were Gish (5), Stoupas (4), Murphy (3), Valdes (3), Holcomb (2), Bullock (1), and Petiki (1). For Azusa Pacific: Nelson (2), Dexter (1), George (1), Johnson (1), Vetuli (1).
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